This is what you’re waiting for 🤨 don’t you dare blink your eyes! loljk

 

Italic = Inner thoughts

 

***

 

It had been two days, but Wendy still had not heard any news from Irene. Hence, she couldn't help but feel worried inside. Although they had planned to meet this Saturday, she still felt unconvinced that the woman would want to meet her after reading her book. To ease her worries, she had sent a message this morning saying she'll be waiting at the usual cafe by then, but Irene hadn't replied. It was very unusual. Even on her busy days, Irene would reply within two hours.

 

Is this her response? Shutting me off without giving me a chance to explain?? Wendy thought sadly. But a second later, she shook her head. No. Irene is not the kind of woman who backs away without a fight. Considering her temperament, she won't let this matter go that easily. After all, I somewhat deceived her by pretending to be her wife. She will definitely confront me. Maybe she just needs more time to think of a way to skin me alive.

 

Wendy shuddered at her own thought and continued walking back and forth in her tiny living room. These days, she couldn't work properly. Her mind was filled with the thought of Irene's possible reactions. Hence, the more she waited, the more agitated she became. At this point, she just wanted things to be done quickly so she could move on with her life. She was tired of living in hopelessness like this.

 

Suddenly her phone lit up, and Wendy's hand never moved this fast to take the device from her table. But when she read the sender's name, she felt a little bit disappointed.

 

Wait! Seulgi sent me a message?? Wendy rubbed her eyes. She couldn't believe it.

 

After being released from the clinic, the young woman was also MIA for a few days. Wendy didn't look for the latter and simply kept her distance as she was asked to. She already accepted the fact that their friendship would never be the same as before. So receiving a message from Seulgi this soon was something she had never thought of. The initial disappointment was replaced with cheers of joy after realizing that her friend was still willing to contact her.

 

From: Seulgi

Where's the book you promised me?

 

Oh … I forgot to send her a copy. Wendy smacked her forehead before forwarding her email to Seulgi.

 

To: Seulgi

Sorry. I sent it just now. Did you get it?

 

From: Seulgi

A forward email? Who else did you send this to?

 

To: Seulgi

Only Irene.

 

From: Seulgi

What does she say?

 

To: Seulgi

I'm waiting for her response. She has yet to contact me.

 

After waiting for 15 minutes and no incoming message from Seulgi, she was sure that the latter wouldn't reply to her chat soon. She had no right to complain because she promised her friend to stay away. At least, Seulgi didn't block her number to cut their contact completely. She was thankful enough.

 

Her mind went back to Irene, and she became restless again. Walking to her fridge, she took a spoonful of mint-choco and ate it in one go. Not minding the brain freeze attack because she was so stressed with her situation.

 

Irene, can't you just reply to my message? Even cursing at me is fine! She cried inwardly while taking another spoonful of ice cream.

 

She wasn't even aware that her phone lit up once again. Indicating an incoming message. She finally noticed that the person she had waited for days had finally sent a message 30 minutes later. With her trembling hand, she opened Irene's chat window.

 

From: Irene Bae

Change the meet-up time to 4 PM. I'll be there.

 

Wendy couldn't read Irene's emotion through her chat, which further agitated her. She felt even worse than before receiving her message. She had told Seulgi that she'll accept if Irene wanted to stay away from her, but in reality, she hoped that the young manager would not avoid her or, worse, take Lily away with her.

 

Her indifferent reply only makes me feel uneasy! Wendy threw her phone back to the table frustratedly. What did she expect anyway? For Irene going crazy in her chat??

 

What should she do if Irene decides to walk away from her life? Her only purpose in this Universe X is to help the woman and everyone close to her find happiness, but she could feel that she was failing it. So, should she prepare herself for God's punishment now? Will God send her to another universe? Or let her soul float in between Universes??

 

Wendy lay on her couch, looking up at the ceiling in wonder. I must have sinned in my past life. Thinking of all the troubles I have now, did I offend any holy being by any chance?

 

…

…

 

Saturday.

 

Wendy didn't dare to step into the small cafe until the clock hit 4 PM. She usually comes earlier, but she couldn't bring herself to step inside today. She felt nausea and her body sweating a lot for an obvious reason. So, she drove around five times to kill time and calm her nerves.

 

When she finally stepped inside, she saw Irene looking straight into her eyes like she's been waiting to eat her alive. Gulping, she walked slowly and sat across the older woman.

 

Irene was still mum, and Wendy dared not say anything. Under the woman's scorching gaze, Wendy lowered her eyes, playing with her thumbs. She caught a glimpse of a water jug near Irene's hand and instantly felt worried. She was traumatized by it, and there was a 100% chance that the woman across her would empty the jug by pouring its content over her head again today.

 

Should I kneel and ask for her forgiveness now? Wendy contemplated deeply.

 

"Didn't you say you want to discuss something with me? Why are you quiet?" Irene's voice was low, but Wendy could hear everything because the woman was her only focus in this semi-crowded cafe.

 

"I apologize! I-" Wendy quickly straightened her back. She wanted to appear strong but cowered again when she caught Irene's eyes.

 

"Speak clearly."

 

"Y-yes." The young novelist clasped her clammy hands on the table. "I'm not Wendy, your wife. I was transported here to occupy your wife's body, replacing her. I know this sounds like bull, but I'm not making things up, and this is not my wish either to take over her body!"

 

Seeing no reaction from Irene, Wendy continued hastily, "I was working on my latest novel that night when I got a sharp pain in my chest, and then I fainted after hitting my head on the table. When I woke up the next day, I found myself lying on the floor at your house. That was when we met for the first time."

 

"I had no idea who you are and the people around me. I thought you mistook me for someone else. The memories of your wife were completely erased, so I had no idea about this universe. I was confused and thought I was abducted until I met this old woman who said she was a God messenger and gave me a letter. You knew what was written inside. I wrote it in my novel. I swear, I thought I was being pranked at first! Until I met Seulgi, she told me everything about your wife's past, and then, I accepted my fate to live as your wife. I'm really sorry it took me a long time to confess the truth to you."

 

Irene's raised her brows but still said nothing, and it drove Wendy to the last thread of her sanity.

 

"Won't you say something?" she asked weakly. A silent Irene was more frightening than a furious Irene. She slightly hoped that the latter would react like Seulgi.

 

"Please? I need to know what you think, Irene."

 

A while later, Irene's red lips parted. "You are a great storyteller."

 

That's not what Wendy hoped for her to say. Her heart sank in disappointment. "So, you don't believe me?" She thought that letting Irene read the book first would make it a lot easier for her to explain her situation.

 

"I didn't say that I don't believe you. Can't I praise you first?"

 

"So you believe me?!" Now Wendy was utterly shocked. Her jaw dropped, and she could only stare in wonder at the woman across her. It was insane that she still found Irene attractive even though the woman looked so intimidating now. "How … how can you believe me??"

 

The woman scoffed in annoyance, and she quickly shut .

 

"You really thought I didn't suspect you before? Why did you think I brought you to a psychiatrist?? I married her. I knew that woman like the back of my hand." Irene rested her back, still looking at Wendy with such an intense gaze. "There's ain't no way she suddenly changed her personality and became a successful novelist overnight just because she lost her memories."

 

Irene narrowed her eyes. "Did you think I'm that clueless?"

 

Wendy's eyes widened, and she quickly shook her head.

 

"I questioned you a few times and brought you to a psychiatrist because I suspected you. But I didn't think that something like this was the real reason behind it. I mean, how could that happen? Are we living in a novel or what??"

 

"I-"

 

"I'm not done yet."

 

Wendy gulped and sat even straighter. "I'm sorry!"

 

"So that scumbag is really dead?"

 

"Y-yes."

 

"Then she deserved it." Irene's eyes were full of hatred. Something Wendy used to see before the woman treated her nicely.

 

"What she did to Lily and me is forever ingrained in my mind. Until now, Lily sometimes wakes up in the middle of the night because of her nightmares, and I have to hug her to sleep until morning. That scum traumatized her badly, and don't even ask what she did to me. She made me feel like I was not worthy of being loved. That I was such a bad wife to her. When I saw you at my house, the only thing I wanted to do was kill you. I prepared a knife in my pocket and was ready to risk everything, but I caught Lily's eyes on me and thought, what would happen to her if I leave her too? That's why I told you to go before I completely lost my sanity. I held myself for Lily's sake."

 

Wendy felt a cold wind kiss her body. She thanked Lily in her mind because the child was literally her savior. She couldn't imagine what she would go through if Irene really lost her sanity that day. Experiencing death twice didn't sound good to her.

 

Shaking her head to stop imagining herself bleeding to death, she asked, "W-when did you start suspecting me?"

 

"When you paid your debt for the 1st time. She would never do that. She was jobless, and she would never work at a place such as a restaurant. Washing dishes and sweepping the floor, she wouldn't do that even though she was in need of money. She would just come to me and harass me to get some. Moreover, she thought Lily was bad luck. She blamed Lily for her parents' accident. She would never embrace her child as you did."

 

Irene continued, "After I read your book, I was in denial at first. Transported to another universe and occupied someone's else body? That only happens in fiction, but when I recalled everything you did to Lily and me, how you act and speak, I knew it could be possible. Deep inside, I know you're not my scum wife. Unconsciously, I refuse to acknowledge you as her. But then, how can you remember something about me, especially the one when I dated her? You said her memories were erased."

 

Wendy also had this question but was no longer thinking about it because she was distracted by a lot of things. "I suspected some of her memories were left behind. The happiest one. I believe that at one point, she loved you."

 

"I don't doubt that. She'd been infatuated with me since college, but she was always a scumbag since her early days."

 

"Then why did you date her then? Even married her if you know she's not a good person," Wendy asked curiously.

 

Irene stared back at her with a meaningful gaze. One that she couldn't decipher.

 

"You might not believe it. But the Wendy I dated was different. She was everything I looked for in a partner. It just everything suddenly changed six months after I married her. It felt like the Wendy I dated was a different person."

 

The young novelist frowned. "Did you think she pretended to be nice to get you? I mean, Seulgi said you rejected her many times before. It could push her to do something extreme just to make you fall for her."

 

The young manager's stare dimmed after hearing Wendy's question. She looked down at her wedding ring. Something that she regularly did ever since she read Wendy's book. Now that she accepted the 'illogical theory' that Wendy came from another world, she also thought it wasn't impossible that Wendy was once here before. But the woman didn't remember anything. This confused her because this Wendy reminded her a lot of that person she once dated. She had a suspicion, but she kept it to herself for now.

 

"So what happened to the world that you left?" She raised her eyes again to look at Wendy's after a while.

 

"I don't know. I was told that I'm dead there."

 

"I'm sorry."

 

"Well, I'd died there, but I'm alive here. I have no complaints except that your ex's situation is too much to handle. I had a hard time in the beginning!" Wendy couldn't help but remember her hardships three months ago. "I-I don't blame you. I blame your ex." She quickly explained. Afraid that she would offend Irene. It wasn't the woman's fault that she didn't know the truth.

 

"Won't you suddenly go back to your world?"

 

Wendy was slightly thrown off by Irene's strange question. "No, I won't."

 

"Are you sure?"

 

Wendy actually didn't know. She also wanted to ask about this if she ever met God's messenger again, but how does she even know how to summon the old woman? By doing a holy ritual? But how?? In the letter, it was only mentioned that she would receive a reward if she succeeded. So, wasn't she considered successful now? Lily was happier now, and well, Irene surprisingly didn't hate her.

 

"Uh, I hope?"

 

Wendy bit her lips. She also didn't want to go back because she was happier here. She had no one in her real world. But here, she had a family to take care of.

 

"So you're not sure either." Irene's tone changed a little. There was a slight restlessness in her voice, and Wendy wondered why.

 

She scratched her head. "After all these crazy things in my life, I don't know my future. All I can do is do my best here."

 

Irene didn't say anything for a long time. It seemed like she was engulfed in her own thought.

 

"Why did you decide to tell me now?"

 

Wendy expected this question. After all, Seulgi asked the same thing. "I don't want to deceive you. I was told to pay for your wife's mistakes and make you and Lily find happiness, but I'm selfish. It's not her doing. It's my doing. If you're happy, then it's because of me, not her." She hoped that Irene got a hint that she didn't like it when the woman thought of her as that scum. She wanted Irene to see her as herself.

 

"Aren't your mission only to make us happy? It shouldn't be a problem if I don't know who the one who makes me happy is, right?"

 

"It is a problem to me." Wendy bravely maintained eye contact with the older woman.

 

"Why?" Irene frowned.

 

"I want to marry you."

 

"..."

 

"No! I-I mean, I think I like you, Irene."

 

"You think?"

 

"No, I like you! I never thought I would like you, but it happened along the way. Well, I know the chance of you liking me back is zero because my appearance is exactly the same as your wife's. It doesn't matter if you don't return my feelings. At least, I want you to know that it was me who tried to fill the hollow that your ex created. Not her. I was the one who tried to make you happy."

 

"So you want me to acknowledge your effort, huh?"

 

"... Well, yes. Sorry, it sounds so self-centered. But, you know it's hard to make you trust me. To make you open yourself, to finally be comfortable talking to each other like this. If only I came here not as your ex, maybe there would be a way to make you see me as I am."

 

"Do you think we'll ever meet if you occupy someone else's body?"

 

"I … Alright, I don't think so. The story would be different." Wendy sighed at the thought of not meeting Irene and Lily. "But how could you believe me this easily? You don't even ask me for proof."

 

"Do you have any proof then?" Irene raised her brows.

 

"No, I don't have." Wendy shook her head. "I cannot give you any proof. I came here with nothing but myself. That's why I prepared myself if you can't accept my existence."

 

"What are you gonna do if I can't accept the truth?"

 

Wendy pursed her lips. "Walk away from your life. I don't want you to suffer because of me. I don't belong in this universe, Irene. My existence here only adds more problems to your life. You and Lily are fine without me, or should I say, you two would be fine knowing the original owner had died."

 

"No. You're wrong."

 

"Huh?" Wendy blinked her eyes. I was wrong??

 

"Wendy, I can accept that you're not her, no matter how absurd it is. Actually, I feel glad. Even if you are not here replacing her, I plan to get rid of her completely from my life. Thank you for your help. You made things easier for me. I honestly enjoyed your companionship and care for us like your own family, even though you're forced to come here. I'm sorry that it happened to you, and I apologize for mistreating you. I didn't know."

 

She continued, "But I told you I'm not looking for a new partner, right? I am not interested in remarrying."